Not My Boyfriend
by mccabebabe
Summary: episode tag for S15 E06 'Date Night' Spencer and Max meet the next morning to talk about the night before SpencerReid/MaxBrenner 'Maxcer'


Not My Boyfriend

First Episode tag for 15.06 "Date Night"

A CM fiction

Maxcer (Spencer Reid/Max Brenner)

K+

Big hugs and thank you out to Aut and WolfAlice for the help, support, patience and for listening!

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"**Love at first sight has nothing on how special love at first talk is. I've cherished all our getting-to-know you moments we've shared. May they go on and on!"**-_Robin Raven_

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A wave of frustration washed through Spencer Reid as he fumbled with an uncooperative tie. He sighed as he ripped it from around his neck and tossed it on the bed. Turning, he rummaged through his closet to find a suitable replacement.

"No…No…No." he dismissed the next three he found before finally settling on an old favourite. After successfully knotting the substitute tie, he grabbed his watch, wallet and keys from the night table. As he hurried out of the bedroom towards the living room, he shrugged his watch into place on his wrist and jammed the wallet into a pants pocket. He came to a skidding halt before the door, surprised to hear a knock emanating from the other side.

Brow furrowed, he cautiously approached the door and peered through the security viewer. His shoulders relaxed as he recognised the caller. Reid released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding as he opened the door.

"Max!" he smiled at her. "Hi. Uh, come on in."

She returned the smile, and crossed the threshold, holding two large takeout coffees and a small bag from _District _ in her hands. Their eyes met and held each other's gaze for a long moment and then Spencer spoke.

"I thought," he began, "We decided last night that we were going to meet at the coffee shop this morning?"

Max held out one of the coffee cups to him, "I know, but," she set her coffee and the bag down on the table, and reaching for Spencer's free hand. He took it and searched her face.

"Is something wrong, Max?"

She shook her head, "No. Not at all. We just, we need to talk, Spence, and I thought it'd be more comfortable to do that here."

His heart fell. _She's breaking up with me _he thought sadly and braced himself, setting his coffee down on the table beside hers.

Max tightened the hold on his hand and indicated the sofa with her head, "Can we sit down?"

Slightly flustered, he recovered enough to see her to a seat and then sat next to her, careful to leave space between them. Max closed that distance, scooting over right next to him and then reached for his other hand.

"I learned a lot about you yesterday. Probably way more than should have been shared this soon in our," she paused briefly, "relationship." She deliberately made and held eye contact with him. Noting his discomfort, Max squeezed his hands. "And if it helps, your teammates were all very uncomfortable sharing it. They only gave me what I needed to know with regards to Cat Adams. Because they said taking her down was what was important."

She looked down at their hands and turned one of his over, stroking the palm gently with her thumb.

"I want you to know that I'm not negatively influenced at all about what they told me. What happened to you in Mexico was not your fault, not your doing." She held up one hand to stop him when he started to protest. "No, hear me out."

Retaking his hand she repeated, "Not. Your. Fault. _She _drugged you. _She_ murdered that lady doctor._ She_ framed you for that. And _she_ caused you to be imprisoned." With each statement, Max squeezed Spencer's hand again. "And even behind bars, you did your job and helped catch her."

He gave her a slight smile, relieved that breaking up was apparently not on the agenda, and waited for her to continue speaking. Max reached for her coffee with one hand, took a sip, and then sighed.

"I'm sorry I had to hear it all from someone other than you. And I'm sorry that it was other than at a time of your choosing, Spence, but I need you to understand," she paused once more to squeeze his hand again. "It has absolutely no bearing on my feelings for you. On my perception of Cat Adams, yes. But never you."

She stopped to take a breath and another sip from her cup. Spencer wondered if she was finished and began silently formulating his own next words. He took a drink of his coffee to collect himself as she turned to face him.

"I now have a deep understanding of how dangerous and how risky your job is. And how damned good at it you are. It also made me see how important it is to you to be able to talk about something other than your work, Spence. I totally get that. And I want you to know that I want to be a sympathetic ear for you."

She tilted her head against his shoulder for a moment and smiled when she felt his right arm go around her. Leaning into his hold, Max took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"Thank you." He squeezed her against him and rested his chin atop her head, taking in the scent of her hair, the warmth of her embrace and the comfort of her words. "It means a lot to me. Everything you said is right. Truthfully, I realise you had to know about these things. And when I'm ready, there may be more. While I don't want to talk about my work with you, sometimes it's just going to be unavoidable. And I know it couldn't have been easy for you, hearing all that," he paused, wincing at the words, "_Stuff _about me."

Max ran her hand along his arm. He touched his lips to her hair. "And for someone who's not a profiler, you did an impressive job of playing her right into your hands."

"I think I'll stick to teaching," she laughed lightly.

"What about the job at the Smithsonian?"

"Haven't heard back yet," she replied, her voice taking on a serious tone.

"I'm not worried. You'll get it."

"I wish I was as sure of that as you are."

"You should be. You have a wonderful way with people. You're smart. You're quick thinking, empathetic, sensitive. Those are all important in a job such as the one the Smithsonian posted."

Her face lit up as he spoke.

"You are so," she paused and met his gaze, "so positive and so encouraging and so supportive."

Max turned to face him and slipped her left arm around him. "I appreciate that so much."

They sat entwined together for a long silent moment, Max nestled her head against his shoulder, tucked in under his chin. It was a wonderfully comforting position and she hoped he felt the same sort of warmth radiating from their embrace. She listened to the steady rhythm of his breathing and heard his heart beating beneath her ear. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head to face him and gently ran her hand across his cheek.

"I'm sorry about everything you've been through because of her. And Emily told me that you'll –-we'll all—be free of her. Hopefully soon."

Spencer nodded. "She pleaded guilty, asked for the death penalty."

"And then we'll never have to talk about her, never have to think about her again."

"I can wholeheartedly agree with that." He leaned forward and picked up both their coffees from the table. Handing Max hers, he made eye contact. "No more Cat." He tapped his coffee cup against Max's like a toast and a promise.

"What's in the bag?" he asked, eyeing the doughnut shop bag she'd left on the table.

"Doughnuts." She giggled when his eyes lit up. Before he could ask, she elaborated, "Chocolate sprinkle."

"Oh!" His resulting smile seemed to light up the room and Max laughed heartily for a moment, and then grew serious.

"No more Cat. Spencer, there's another phrase I'd like never to have to say again."

He looked over the rim of his cup and met her gaze. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Not my boyfriend." She bit her lip shyly as she said it. He set his coffee on the table, turned and took her cup from her. It joined its companion on the table and Spencer moved forward to gather Max into his arms.

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"**I close my eyes to old ends. And open my heart to new beginnings."**_-Nick Frederickson_


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